PEORIA — Walt Lemon’s first start as a Bradley Brave came nine games into his freshman year at No. 1-ranked Duke.

The Chicagoan’s final home game at BU will be Tuesday at 8:05 p.m. vs. the nation’s second-ranked team, 29-0 Wichita State.

In between, Lemon filled box scores with numbers good and bad. But because of his elite athleticism and effort level, he’s always been a primary focus of the opposition’s scouting report.

“I want to be remembered as one of the best players to ever put on a Bradley uniform,” Lemon said. “As someone who played hard and gave 100 percent every time he stepped on the court.”

For his BU career, Lemon is one of four Missouri Valley Conference men’s basketball players who have combined for 1,600 points (1,659), 300 assists (357) and 200 steals (211). The other three are two-time all-MVC players of the year Larry Bird, Darren Brooks and Hersey Hawkins.

On the flip side, Lemon’s 397 turnovers (more than 100 each of the last three seasons) are by far the most by a Valley player since the stat began being charted individually 18 years ago.

“Statistically, Walt will go down as one of the all-time greats at Bradley,” said BU coach Geno Ford. “Without question, he’s the hardest individual worker I’ve ever coached. I hope his legacy with our younger players is how you can become a better player individually through a lot of hard work.”

This matchup vs. the Shockers, televised on ESPN2, will be the home farewell for three other BU seniors — Jordan Prosser, Tyshon Pickett and Mason Alwan.

Each has contributed to the program in different ways.

“Pross has given us a post player who can score with his back to the basket,” Ford said. “Tyshon came into the program a year ago and really got us turned in the right direction with physicality.

“And Mason is one of the team’s favorites. He did almost the impossible — not play for three semesters as a walk-on and then find a way to impact our season in a positive, tangible way. He won us the Southern Illinois game. That was pretty special for a kid who grew up going to Bradley games.”

The quartet hasn’t experienced great success during their time on the Hilltop. Lemon and Prosser’s teams have gone 49-79, while Pickett and Alwan’s squads have been 30-34.

But an upset of these Shockers, who thumped the Braves 72-50 last month in Kansas, would cement their legacy for all time. The last team ranked this high to play in Peoria was the 1982 Shockers, who lost to Bradley 55-47.

Page 2 of 2 - “I think we can give them a better game at home,” Lemon said. “They really took it to us in their gym with their press and were aggressive from the jump. We need to be tough enough and have enough courage to take care of the ball and bring the fight to them.”

Easier said than done against perhaps America’s toughest-minded team.

“This team has a mentality that other teams just don’t have,” Ford said. “That’s what separates them. They’re relentless. They don’t like to be scored on and I’ve never seen a team offensive rebound like these guys. They never don’t make an attempt to go get the ball. What they’ve done, to beat every single team on your schedule, is unreal.”

Ford cites two areas in which Bradley must excel to be competitive.

“We cannot turn the ball over,” he said. “They have the best hands in the league at breaking you on the drive. And second, we can’t allow them to have (double-digit) offensive rebounds. If we can do those two things, we have a chance.”

It’s what the Shockers do after those acts — make steals that lead to breakaway layups and score rebound baskets — that gives them the extra edge of winning 29 games by an average of 15 points.

“We’ve got to have the best resolve we’ve ever had because I know what kind of resolve they’re going to have,” Ford said.

Certainly, the Shockers’ national goals are on a wholly different plane than the Braves’ modest ones of finishing strong and staying out of the MVC play-in round.

On Saturday, WSU clinched the Valley title by clobbering Drake 83-54. But the celebration was mild.

“We were able to cut down nets and get that out of the way,” WSU coach Gregg Marshall said. “We didn’t even talk about this goal, because the whole thing has been on next game, next game.”

That next game is here.

BRAVES BRIEFS: The final drawing for the Braves Club raffle will be held at halftime. Tickets for $100 can still be purchased prior to the game for the $25,000 grand prize and nine additional cash prizes. ... The Braves Club pregame party will start at 6 p.m. to coincide with the one-hour later tipoff.

Dave Reynolds can be reached at 686-3210 or dreynolds@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @davereynolds2.